MAPPING WITHIN: AN ALTERNATIVE GUIDE TO TEHRAN AND BEYOND. CURATED BY SOHRAB KASHANI

March 16th - April 30th 2015

The Mine presents the group exhibition 'Mapping Within: An Alternative Guide to Tehran and Beyond,’ curated by Sohrab Kashani, exploring an alternative overview of Tehran; an everyday growing cosmopolitan that keeps expanding.

These artists have ignored the routine and have chosen to depict their individual experiences and stories, far from all exhausting conventional norms that society (theirs and others) forces on them. They explore the inner universe, the inward. Each artist depicts an aspect of Iran’s multicolour culture and society. The detachment these artists have made has provided them the comfort zone they require to construct their own imaginary worlds, yet they are still influenced by history and their origins. The solitude of these artists is more of a choice rather than a sign of depression. Their work that we observe is a documentation of their reclusion.

Through these artists’ artistic visions unpleasant routines are integrated into somewhat vague, melancholic, and nostalgic depictions. These depictions can no longer be confined within the local - this order within disorder. These paradoxes are not specifically dedicated to certain regions and localities.

These artworks can be used to investigate some of the frameworks of Iran’s complex society and can help obtain a multidimensional perception towards a mysterious land that still has so much to be explored.

On the occasion of Art Dubai 2015, The Mine is presenting a selection of Tehran's most noteworthy emerging contemporary artists whose works, ranging from sculptures to works on canvas, will be put at benefit auction in collaboration with Paddle8 auction house during their exhibition at The Mine in Dubai. In its endeavor to provide a support platform for emerging talent and foster artistic dialogue, The Mine has collaborated with Paddle8 on this project and will redirect part of the proceeds to Sazmanab; an independent non-profit art center in Tehran which aims to support and expand the knowledge, appreciation and practice of contemporary arts in Iran through its educational initiatives, workshops, residencies, exhibitions and publications.